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Militant Atheism in the USSR: Demolition of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

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Militant atheism is a term applied to atheism which is hostile towards religion. Militant atheists have a desire to propagate the doctrine, and differ from moderate atheists because they hold religion to be harmful. Militant atheism was an integral part of the atheistic communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism, and was significant in the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. Atheist states, both historically and currently, uphold the doctrine; these include the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), People's Republic of China (PRC), Cuba, and North Korea. Today, militant atheism also manifests itself in the New Atheism movement, which stands by the ideological position that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed. In the 20th Century alone, over 25 million believers of many faiths were martyred under the militant atheism espoused by atheist régimes around the world. However, the promotion of this atheistic ideology, along with its accompanying persecution of faith communities continues today.

Расстрел безбожниками крестного хода в Астрахани

Militant atheism, according to Harold J. Berman, a Harvard specialist in Soviet law, was the state credo of the Soviet Union. The militant state atheism of the Bolshevik Revolution owed its origins to the Marxist-Leninist dictum that religion was the opium of the masses. To this end, the goal of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the liquidation of religion and the means to achieve this goal included the destruction of churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, religious monuments, as well the mass deportation of believers to Siberian forced labor camps, which is commonly referred to as the Gulag. Many of these houses of worship were converted into bath houses, granaries, and museums of atheism, the latter of which were constructed in order to proselytize the masses into accepting atheism. In addition, atheistic and antireligious carnivals were frequently held by the League of Militant Atheists in order to promote the mockery of the religious and the beliefs that they held sacred. Religion was banned from the school and university system and pupils were asked to convert family members to atheism, as well as memorize antireligious rhymes, songs, and catechisms. Scientific theories, such as the Big Bang, which implied a creator God, were suppressed in favor of theories which were thought to support atheistic materialism.

Martyrdom of believers at the War in the Vendée

Under the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, the atheistic Cult of Reason (Culte de la Raison) was established. The Cult of Reason was celebrated in a carnival atmosphere of parades, ransacking of churches, ceremonious iconoclasm, in which religious and royal images were defaced, and ceremonies which substituted the leaders of the Revolution for Christian martyrs. The pogrom of dechristianisation waged against Christianity, included the deportation or execution of clergy; the closing of churches; the rise of the Cult of Reason; the large scale destruction of religious monuments; the outlawing of public and private worship and religious education; the forced abjurement of priests of their vows; and the War in the Vendée.

Government poster promoting Militant Atheism

Under the militant atheism of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong, houses of worship were shut down; Buddhist pagodas, Daoist temples, Christian churches, and Muslim mosques were destroyed; artifacts were smashed; and sacred texts were burnt. Moreover, it was a criminal offence to even possess a religious artifact or sacred text. The death toll in 20th Cenutry China attributable to Mao Tse-Tsung's "Great Leap Forward" is estimated by reputable sources to be as high as forty million. Today, forty-seven percent of people living in the officially atheist People's Republic of China describe themselves as atheists, the largest percentage of atheists in any nation. China has enforced its anti-religion policy through decades of repression, coercion and persecution; members of the Chinese Communist Party and Youth League are required to be atheists.

North Korea is officially an atheist state in which much of the population is nonreligious due to years of persecution by the atheistic government. It is ranked #1 on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where the persecution of believes is most severe.Following the Korean War, Kim Il Sung, backed by the atheistic USSR, intensified the persecution of the faithful in North Korea: those who refused to accept the atheism of the Juche ideology were executed or deported to remote concentration camps, where they were starved, overworked, tortured and/or shot to death.

New Atheism is a modern militant atheist movement which promotes the ideological position that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed. Its founders include Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennet. This movement has gained a following among vulnerable individuals and is present in the mission of several organisations today, such as the British Humanist Association and American Atheists. These organisation's activities include campaigning against a Holocaust Memorial and a World Trade Center Memorial Cross, as well as attempting to disestablish historic State Churches. In 2012, at one of the largest New Atheist gatherings, dubbed the "Reason Rally", militant atheists carried signs stating “So many Christians, so few lions,” in reference to the Diocletianic Persecution, in which several Christians were tortured and killed. In addition, New Atheist leader Dawkins has attempted to justify the atrocities committed in the name of atheism and has urged his militant atheist followers to "mock and ridicule" believers.